Clearly I’m not as big of a Depeche Mode fan as I thought. Considering I didn’t know the majority of their songs while the rest of the huge crowd sang along indicated to me I had lost touch with the band after their big hit album, “Violator.” I can be fine with that. But I can’t decide if I was fine with the lack of signature Mode songs played Saturday night.
Depeche Mode does put on a good show if not just shades below a great show. Having never seen them live, I was surprised by the energy of the bad considering their overall dark tone. Lead singer Dave Gahan was all over the stage in his sinewy fit form, black pants and vest dancing up a tizzy owning both the stage and the audience. His performance alone is comparable to the likes of David Bowie or Freddie Mercury and the audience ate up his every move and word. He’s not much for banter but the crowd roared at his simple “yeeeeahs” or “Hey Dallas!”
Martin Gore was the perfect antithesis to Gahan. He anchored Gahan’s spastic and continuous movement by jamming in one spot with his big-ass guitar. This isn’t to say he was less interesting. There is something about Gore that made it hard to take my eyes off. His curly blond hair still flopped when he sang and his eyes are still so haunting. He may be one of the few musicians who can be present yet still makes you wonder what he’s thinking.
The trippiest part of the show was the back screen. Video segments of Mode in astronaut uniforms to bouncing balls to James Bond girl silhouettes were amazing but it was the live part that messed with my head in such a good way. Cameras catching the action onstage played back behind the band. Effects relayed the show in grainy black and white or sometimes in beautifully blue fashion that felt like I was watching something altogether different, like watching a DVD of the concert yet it was all happening live. Or maybe I’m just easily entertained. When the footage completely filled the screen, it was magnificent to see Gahan fill up the stage and seeing his nuanced facial expressions. The camerawork was gloriously reminiscent of old Doors footage or cheesy camera angles from ’60s television but updated with high energy and edgy effects.
They had a way of making Dallas feel like we were the only stop on the tour. It seemed more like they wanted to put on a good show for us as opposed to just another night on their tour. But I can’t help be disappointed by their lack of signature songs. “Enjoy the Silence,” “Personal Jesus,” “Never Let Me Down Again,” and a couple of other familiar hits made the cut but their omissions were blatant. It was almost blasphemous they didn’t play “Master and Servant” or “People Are People.” Throughout the concert, they vacillated between slow and fast songs and did the same for their two encores but missed the mark completely. “Personal Jesus” ramped up their second encore but ended with the dirge-like “Waiting for the Night.” We waited with anticipation thinking they would then bust out with “Strangelove,” the song everyone screamed for and seemed the most likely. It wasn’t. The show was officially over.
The audience clapped and hollered. The crowd was not at all disappointed but outside I overheard people discussing missing songs.”They didn’t play…,” was what I heard the most and followed by a catalog of songs that made me think, “Oh yeah.” The show was good enough to make a strong impression. I was able to go home and listen to the songs they didn’t play and had as good a time imagining, “What if.”
Extra note: If you’re tall and you see everyone around you sit down for the slow song, please join them. Yeah, I’m talking to you Row S Seat 5.
Great review!
Isn’t it clear enough that DM is one of the greatest bands ever?
With a band that has a ton of great music and a catalog spanning nearly 30 years, how can one expect them to play their “signature” songs in one night? I’m always a bit irritated to hear this “wish they would have played ___” discussion. Talk to ten people and you get 10 versions of what *they* consider DM “signature” songs that should fill out the setlist. I’m pleased with the setlist and happy they are still out there performing their music!!
They haven’t played People Are People since the 80s. Martin Gore hates that song.
Overall, I agree: For a band with so many hits, I don’t get why their concerts aren’t any longer. Bands like The Cure, who have just as many hits as Depeche Mode, will play for 3 hours, playing through 30 songs before calling it a night.
It was quite obvious that they still have a HUGE following in gay community. I was at JR’s Saturday evening and it was pretty darn dead. Also, I got tons of mobile uploads from friends on FB from the concert. Makes me wish I had been there….wonk wonk.
hey jerk… I was seat 5 row S and im only 5’3… i stood cause there was like guys that were 6 feet tall in front of me and they sat down during the slow songs and this was my only chance to see Martin Gore without tip toeing.
Get better seats next time!!!!!!!!
@Cherish – I can definitely see that point. I imagine that the band itself gets tired of the same songs over the years but I do feel it is an interesting option when a band might not play some of their hits. At the same time, would a Rolling Stones concert be a Stones concert without “Satisfaction,” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” or “It’s Only Rock and Roll?”
I think I just have mixed feelings about it because I can understand a band wanting to leave some stuff behind but also, a band might want to give the fans the best show with songs the audience probably expects. If they had gone a bit more marathon with their show like booga mentioned and had a solid retrospective of their work, it would have been beyond great.
In the end, it was really an observation more than a complaint.
This is a common argument. I went to see Madonna last year in Houston and I could not wait to hear Isla Bonita. It is the song she does on every tour but it’s totally reinvented each time. This was my first time to a Madonna concert so I was really looking forward this. I went on Madonna blogs prior to the concert and I heard people bitchin that she needs to stop singing that song. They’ve been to several concerts, they’ve heard it before and it’s tired. Sometimes artists make song selections based on their hard-core, been to every concert fans. Sometimes it’s based on their new fans and they try to stick to the less obscure, popular songs. The best artists give a mixture of both. I think that is what they did.
@Becky, I was referring to the tall broad-backed guy who was standing in front of that particular seat the whole time. Maybe that’s just where he ended up but I know it couldn’t have been you.
I surprised myself by knowing all the words to all the songs. I didn’t think I was as big a fan as I now know I am!
As for the set, I have to wonder if it was not a reduced number of songs chosen because of exhaustion? We all heard Dave’s voice cracking at the beginning and sounding quite weak. As they got around 4 songs in, his voice was warmed up and crankin’! Could he also still be battling some of the health issues that linger from the beginning of the summer? I’m giving serious thought to catching another concert just to see.
Food for thought.
Perhaps my theory is correct…I found a video of Master and Servant from a previous concert on this tour. Here’s the link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r92hoSOYVEc&feature=related
this tour, unlike previous tours, depeche mode changes their setlist from city to city (strangelove was played in other city such as salt lake city(strange))….they keep a core of about 12 songs for this tour, strangelove is not one of those core ones and strangelove hasn’t been played since the world violation tour….they play the same amount of songs for most of their tour dates, some cities didn’t get the second encore….depeche mode don’t play their hits (wait a second, in the US only people are people, enjoy the silence, and personal jesus are the only songs that charted- so really no hits) in concerts- they play songs that get the crowd going and songs from their favorite albums- black celebration and violator (question of time, stripped, policy of truth)….what suprised me was they didn’t play just cant get enough and everything counts but thats probably didn’t mesh with the tone of this tour (too bubbly)…..master n servant was replaced by stripped, probably because stripped is an amazing concert song……
booga dooga says: “Overall, I agree: For a band with so many hits, I don’t get why their concerts aren’t any longer. Bands like The Cure, who have just as many hits as Depeche Mode, will play for 3 hours, playing through 30 songs before calling it a night.”
reply to booga dooga: i love the cure; i love them playing 30 songs; i love them doing about 5 encores but Robert Smith just sings, he doesn’t swoon and dance and get the crowd into it….i think gahan will die of a heart attack if depeche plays for 30 song